A Study of Release on Recognizance in Oakland County

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Abstract

During the past several years, there has been a gradual
awakening to the problems of bail. Spearheading this
movement have been the various release on recognizance
(ROR) programs which are designed to end reliance on
money bail wherever possible.
Unfortunately, bail reform is a slow and tedious
process. Although the first ROR program, the Manhattan
Bail Project, started in 1960, Oakland County did not
institute such a program until 1971 and even then, the
program that was initiated, the Oakland County Legal
Aid Society Release on Recognizance (OCLAS ROR) Program,
had only a semi-official status. It was neither funded
nor was it independent of strict judicial control. Furthermore,
it was accepted by only four of nineteen District
Court justices.
This paper is a report on ROR in Oakland County. It
is divided into three sections. The first, the Introduction,
is included to acquaint the reader with the bail system
and the need for ROR programs. The second, entitled
The Oakland County Legal Aid Society Release on Recognizance
Program, is a report on the program's first
year of operation. And the last, Recommendations, is
obvious in nature. Hopefully, the recommendations made
therein can be implemented in the near future.

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